The last day of school.

Liu Zhengming had already left. Zhou Li was cleaning the dormitory while Huai Xu lay on the bed, watching him mop the floor.

The morning was cool, and the dormitory door stood wide open. The floor tiles glistened with tiny droplets of water, strung together in lines. A breeze swept through the hallway, carrying the droplets and much of the heat away, leaving the dormitory feeling overly cold and damp.

Zhou Li was mopping with gusto, panting as he worked.

Huai Xu watched with equal interest.

Zhou Li had already swept the dust off the floor. Now, after mopping once, he washed the mop, preparing to go over it again.

Huai Xu, lying on the top bunk, poked half his head out and suggested, "You know, those car guys, they use a spinning thing to go WHIRR, WHIRR, ZZZZZ on the car, and then the car gets all shiny. After that, they apply wax and, wow, it can be used as a mirror!"

Zhou Li kept silent, continuing to mop the floor.

Seeing this, Huai Xu had no choice but to take the initiative. "Do you know what that spinning thing is called?"

Zhou Li still ignored him.

He wouldn't give him the chance to call it a floor polisher!

?

Zhou Li paused his movements.

Tuanzi sauntered over lazily, her graceful figure reflected in the floor tiles. Then she flopped down—

Right where he was about to mop.

And she looked up at him with innocent eyes.

"Excuse me."

"Meow?"

"Please excuse me."

"Meow meow?"

"Lord Dumpling, please move aside," Zhou Li said, standing with his mop and helplessly watching the cheeky cat.

"Meow woo?"

...

He began to mop another area.

Tuanzi kept her eyes on his mop, following its movements. Suddenly, she sprang up. She swaggered over to where his mop was headed and lay down again, silently watching him. She tilted her head coyly, as if trying to charm him with her blinking eyes.

Zhou Li took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and temporarily put the mop down before bending over to pick Tuanzi up.

Now Tuanzi could suddenly talk—

"Zhou Li, what are you doing?" Her voice was delicate and milky, devoid of any accusing tone. Instead, she sounded fragile and innocent. Even her four little paws dangled obediently, without struggling.

"Why is Lord Dumpling being picked up?"

"Hmm?"

Zhou Li placed her on Liu Zhengming's desk.

After lying on the ground, Tuanzi's belly was somewhat wet. Liu Zhengming had previously left a few exam answer sheets on the desk, and now they were all crinkled from the dampness.

"Stop messing around."

"Where are the eggs, meow?"

"Just don't interfere with my work anymore."

"Cats are like this!"

...

It was impossible for her not to cause mischief. If Zhou Li didn't move, Tuanzi lay on the desk and watched him, her eyes bright and alert. As soon as Zhou Li started to mop, she seized the opportunity to leap down, even pulling Liu Zhengming's papers off the desk and scattering them everywhere.

Yet she acted as if she saw nothing, wandering around Zhou Li's mop.

So annoying!

How could there be such annoying creatures in this world! This behavior was purely a deliberate attempt to be annoying!

Zhou Li took another deep breath and stopped mopping. Pointing at the dustpan next to him, he addressed Tuanzi, "Lord Dumpling, if you keep this up, I'll sweep you into this dustpan and dump you in the trash can. The trash can is really dirty."

From the top bunk, Huai Xu chimed in, "Throw her! Throw her! If you don't, you're a wuss!"

Tuanzi just cocked her head, her eyes bright yet bewildered, looking every bit like a kitten oblivious to the world, not understanding human speech.

One minute later—

The trash can now had a Tuanzi in it.

Her gaze was still bright, with what seemed like twinkling stars, as she nestled motionless in the trash can. Judging by her expression, she didn't seem to mind being thrown into the trash at all—on the contrary... she seemed to enjoy it?

In any case, she settled into this small space, allowing Zhou Li to finish mopping the floor.

Huai Xu, still lying on the top bunk, rested his chin on his hands, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Can we leave now?"

"Let's go."

Their belongings were all packed up.

Zhou Li looked at the still-wet floor, reflecting the beds, chair legs, ceiling, and the play of light and shadow from the balcony outside, and nodded in satisfaction. Then Huai Xu climbed down from the top bunk, slipped on his flip-flops, and walked out with a SLAP, SLAP, leaving several distinct watery footprints on the floor.

He tightly shut his mouth. I didn't see it, I didn't see it.

Picking up his suitcase, he walked outside. Passing the trash can at the door, he asked, "Is Lord Dumpling going to stay here for the summer vacation?"

CLATTER, RUSTLE.

The scrappy cat struggled and climbed out of the trash bin. With small, determined steps, it followed them closely.

At the first-floor entrance, there was a registration table for computers and luggage.

After leaving the dormitory building, Zhou Li called Brother Nan. Since Brother Nan was chatting with the Dormitory Auntie, he waited for a while before he saw Baozi and Brother Nan come out from their dorm together.

The Dormitory Auntie even came out to see them off.

To this, Zhou Li reacted very calmly.

Baozi, carrying a bag that seemed too large for her frame, walked up to him with difficulty. "Cousin, take me to the subway entrance."

Zhou Li nodded.

「Afternoon.」

The two of them rode bikes leisurely outside.

Brother Nan pedaled extremely fast. Taking advantage of the spacious and clear road, she zigzagged ahead, drawing S-curves and calling out as she rode. The tuft of hair on top of her head appeared exceptionally frail as it blew in the wind, tilting from side to side.

"Vacation time!"

"Freedom!"

"WOO HOO!"

"I want to go karting!"

"Play in the water!"

"Off-roading!"

In contrast was Zhou Li behind her, who remained very quiet, so quiet that he didn't seem like her companion at all.

Perhaps that was his intention.

After a good while, Brother Nan finally stopped shouting.

Up ahead was a long, straight downhill slope. Zhou Li followed a direct line, his speed steadily increasing until he surpassed the zigzagging Brother Nan. The sun was scorching, yet the air didn't feel oppressively hot. The road was quiet and empty, and the gentle breeze created a pleasant feeling.

Suddenly, a figure passed by him without a word.

Zhou Li caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: Brother Nan, hands hanging naturally, staring straight ahead as if she thought it looked cool.

This gave him a bit of a headache; it was an eyesore.

Soon, Brother Nan fell behind him again.

But in less than half a minute, she overtook him again. This time, she stood upright on the bike, like a statue.

A frown formed on Zhou Li's forehead.

What a pain.

He bent over to reduce air resistance and overtook Brother Nan. After about a minute, he glanced back. He saw a figure sitting cross-legged on a bike, slowly passing him at a steady pace. The person on the bike had a solemn expression, their hands forming a lotus gesture, resembling Guanyin.

...

He sped up again. After overtaking Brother Nan, he immediately looked back. She was properly seated on the bike once more, pedaling furiously, panting heavily, and shaking her head—her previous composure utterly gone.

At that moment, Brother Nan looked up.

The two made eye contact. She paused, stopped accelerating, and awkwardly scratched her head.

There was a hint of embarrassment...

Afterward, Brother Nan stopped trying to act cool and followed Zhou Li obediently.

After about ten minutes, as they passed the entrance of Polytechnic University, they suddenly saw a familiar figure. The person was standing at the entrance with numerous bags, large and small, attempting to flag down passing cars, but no one was paying any attention.

SCREECH!

Zhou Li braked, the tires leaving a deep blue streak on the ground. He turned to look at the person.

"What a coincidence."

"Hey, Zhou Li..." Yin Le was also taken aback. "You guys got off for the holiday earlier than us?"

"We just came out today too."

"Then that's really a coincidence." Yin Le looked at him. Then, he turned to look at Brother Nan's retreating figure; she was still pressing onward, oblivious that she'd left her boyfriend behind. "Are you guys out for a ride?" Yin Le asked.

"Something like that. Are you going home?"

"No, I'm not going back this summer holiday. I've rented a place outside and am moving my stuff over."

"Where's your car?"

"I have too much stuff; figured I'd get a cab."

"I see."

Zhou Li's gaze unintentionally swept over and saw a cardboard box at Yin Le's feet, filled with various sundry items. Among them, a small, oddly shaped object caught his attention.

Yin Le's voice rang in his ear, "Aren't you going to chase after your girlfriend! Otherwise, you're going to be in trouble if she's not happy!"

"Need help?"

"Huh?"

"Need help?" Zhou Li repeated.

"No need for that, you'd better go…" Yin Le again pointed ahead. His sentence was unfinished when he saw Brother Nan riding back. He fell silent, estimating, "Your girlfriend must have ridden a good two miles by now."

"Oh."

Zhou Li pondered for a moment, then pointed to a corner of Yin Le's box. "What's this?"

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